The rehabilitation of Marawi City should continue to gain commitment in terms of priority programs of the second Marcos administration, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said over the weekend.
Adiong said he expected a “renewed commitment” from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the continuity of the Marawi City rehabilitation from the creation of the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM).
He said more than the physical reconstruction in rehabilitation, Adiong said, he hoped that the Marcos administration “can unite with us in our mission to facilitate the long but necessary process of healing among our communities.”
Created by Administrative Order No, 03 on June 28, 2017, the TFBM is an interagency convergent body charged of “comprehensive and integrated rehabilitation program for Marawi City and other affected localities.”
Extremists captured the city in 2017, during which they ransacked banks and held hostage and executed an undetermined number of people.
“The landscape in Lanao del Sur has changed in the last five years, and our new mandate from the people gives us the chance to change it for the better,” Adiong said.
Adiong said President Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address (SONA) was particularly important, as the Chief Executive was expected to set benchmarks for his first 100 days in office.
With the people of the First District of Lanao del Sur, Adiong said he expected to hear that the rehabilitation of Marawi City would continue to be a priority under the current administration.
He said that while presidential administrative orders “continue to subsist beyond the term of the President who issued them, an expression of commitment to continuing support for the TFBM during the first SONA can offer reassurance to the people of Lanao del Sur, especially Marawi City.”
Adiong, who served as spokesperson for the Lanao del Sur Crisis Management Committee during the siege of Marawi City in 2017, said;
“We appreciate the work that has already been accomplished in Marawi, and we look forward to doing more with the current administration in the next six years.”